Masterclass with Sacha Robotti

We had a blast hosting Sacha Robotti at IO Music Academy for an insightful (and hilarious) look into his career, his production, and what it takes to make it as a DJ.

From his beginnings in Berlin as part of the duo, Robosonic, to having performances at Electric Daisy Carnival, Coachella, Desert Hearts Festival, and many more, Sacha's "SlothAcid" style of music has reached worldwide recognition as well as immense support from labels like Dirtybird, Desert Hearts, Insomniac, and more.

Sacha is a German-Italian who was raised in Belgium. He has a masters degree in architecture, speaks 4 languages, and has lived in Berlin, Germany, Sydney, Australia, and even Kabul, Afghanistan. He began playing the cello at the age of seven, started DJing at the age of 15, and now resides in Los Angeles pursuing his dream.

When he first started DJing, Sacha was inspired by Jeff Mills and Dave Clark's mixing styles as well as jazz, latin, and classical music; he then learned to sample and mash up songs to release on records and eventually led to him producing his own music. Under Robosonic, Sacha produced music for labels like Suara, Defected and Off, and toured the world. He shared some pro-tips for testing out songs for consistent quality and the best approach to researching outlets and resourcing to send demos. Sacha stresses the importance of flow, understanding how less can be more in music, and how he creates songs quickly so boredom doesn't negatively impact his production.

Sacha began sending his own demos to Dirtybird Records in 2008 and in 2012, finally releasing his first single with them called "The Major.” At Desert Hearts' Spring 2017 Festival, Sacha's signature DJ style was christened SlothAcid--the sloth being his spirit animal--which involves a mix of groovy, emotional psychedelic music with heavy beats. Sacha also told the audience about how he takes care of himself and balances his personal life with his hectic schedule DJing and touring.

Thanks to Carlos Medina for the amazing video! You can watch the rest of the livestream here.